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United States Patent |
5,215,495
|
Crevasse
|
June 1, 1993
|
One-piece shirred casing
Abstract
A one-piece shirred casing article that finds particular utility in making
dry sausages such as pepperoni is disclosed, as is a method for making the
article and for using it. A tied one-piece casing is shirred into a
compact form and encased in a temporary container which enables the
operator to easily place the casing onto the stuffing horn for filling
without requiring hand shirring. The use of larger diameter and shorter
length stuffing horns is enabled when compared to the use of sticks or
strands of long lengths of casings used to form multiple sausage products.
Inventors:
|
Crevasse; Gary A. (Rochester Hills, MI)
|
Assignee:
|
Viscofan, Industria Navarra de Envolutras Celulosicas (ES)
|
Appl. No.:
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880056 |
Filed:
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May 7, 1992 |
Current U.S. Class: |
452/21; 138/118.1; 206/802; 426/138; 452/22 |
Intern'l Class: |
F16L 011/08 |
Field of Search: |
138/118.1
426/105,135,138,140
206/802
428/34.3,34.8
|
References Cited
U.S. Patent Documents
3882252 | May., 1975 | Winkler.
| |
3892869 | Jul., 1975 | Sheridan et al.
| |
4007761 | Feb., 1977 | Beckman.
| |
4013099 | Mar., 1977 | Gerigk et al.
| |
4033382 | Jul., 1977 | Eichin | 138/118.
|
4132047 | Jan., 1979 | Gerigk | 206/802.
|
4263942 | Apr., 1981 | Lenhart | 138/118.
|
4327777 | May., 1982 | Michel | 138/118.
|
4363819 | Dec., 1982 | Steffen.
| |
4422215 | Dec., 1983 | Liekens | 206/802.
|
4430772 | Feb., 1984 | Michel et al.
| |
4439890 | Apr., 1984 | Kazaitis.
| |
4466463 | Aug., 1984 | Kupcikevicius.
| |
4466464 | Aug., 1984 | Kupcikevicius.
| |
4466465 | Aug., 1984 | Frey.
| |
4466466 | Aug., 1984 | Raudys.
| |
4466984 | Aug., 1984 | Kupcikevicius.
| |
4551370 | Nov., 1985 | Nausedas.
| |
4585680 | Apr., 1986 | Nausedas.
| |
4641687 | Feb., 1987 | Kupcikevicius.
| |
4867204 | Sep., 1989 | Ellis.
| |
5027863 | Jul., 1991 | Kupcikevicius.
| |
5038832 | Aug., 1991 | Mahoney et al.
| |
5045020 | Sep., 1991 | Neeff | 452/22.
|
Other References
Karmas, Sausage Casing Technology, pp. 259-329, 1974.
Fill-Clip-Automat Type SFC 7006 poly-clip Viscora Flash, No. 21--Mar. 1972.
|
Primary Examiner: Kisliuk; Bruce M.
Assistant Examiner: Lavinder; Jack
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Harness, Dickey & Pierce
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A casing article for encasing a single stuffable product, said article
comprising:
a one-piece length of casing for encasing a single product the casing being
shirred,
container means for holding the one-piece shirred length of casing and for
preventing de-shirring of the casing prior to stuffing; and
said article being of compact size capable of being held by an operator of
a stuffing machine and easily manipulated by hand to place the article
onto a stuffing horn without requiring hand shirring of the casing.
2. The casing article of claim 1 wherein the container means comprises:
a rear disk adjacent to a rearward end of the shirred casing;
a forward disk adjacent to a front end of the casing;
the front end of the casing being tied and passing inwardly through the
forward disk;
a sleeve of flexible material stretched over the disks and forming a
container for the shirred casing having a length less than about 6 inches;
and
the sleeve being connected to the disks with sufficient force so that the
container prevents de-shirring of the casing prior to stuffing and so that
the container remains on the stuffing horn during stuffing.
3. The casing article of claim 2 wherein the rear and forward disks have
outer diameters greater than the outer diameter of the shirred casing.
4. The casing article of claim 3 wherein the sleeve, prior to being
stretched over the disks, is a tubular film having an outer diameter less
than the outer diameter of the disks.
5. The casing article of claim 2 wherein the sleeve is a film of ethylene
vinyl acetate (EVA) approximately 2 to 3 mils thick.
6. The casing article of claim 1 wherein the casing has a length, prior to
shirring, of less than about 70 inches.
7. The casing article of claim 6 wherein the casing is a small caliber
fibrous casing used to make pepperoni.
8. The casing article of claim 1 wherein the casing is premoistened
sufficiently to eliminate soaking by the operator prior to stuffing.
9. The casing article of claim 1 wherein the inner diameter of the shirred
casing is at least 40 millimeters thereby permitting the use of larger
diameter and shorter stuffing horns than compared with horns used with
strands of longer lengths of casing.
10. A casing article for encasing a single stuffable sausage, said article
comprising:
a one-piece length of casing for encasing a single sausage, the casing
being shirred, said casing having a closed end and an open end;
container means for holding the one-piece shirred length of casing and for
preventing de-shirring of the casing prior to stuffing, with the closed
end of the casing being arranged so that it can extend form the container
means during stuffing; and
said article being of compact size capable of being held by an operator of
a sausage stuffing machine and easily manipulated by hand to place the
open end of the casing onto a stuffing horn without requiring hand
shirring of the casing, with the casing being pushed from the container as
meat emulsion is forced through the stuffing horn into the closed end of
the casing, the open end of the casing being thereafter closed to form a
single sausage product.
11. The casing article of claim 10 wherein the casing is a fibrous casing
for making pepperoni.
12. The casing article of claim 11 wherein the fibrous casing is less than
about 85 millimeters in diameter.
13. The casing article of claim 12 wherein the casing is about 40-70 inches
in length prior to shirring.
14. The casing article of claim 13 wherein said container means comprises:
a sleeve of radially stretchable material stretched over rear and forward
disks respectively abutting rear and forward portions of the shirred
casing.
15. The casing article of claim 14 wherein the closed end of the casing is
tied and passes inwardly through the forward disk;
wherein the container means has a length of less than about 6 inches; and
wherein the rear and forward disks have outer diameters greater than the
outer diameter of the shirred casing; with the sleeve, prior to being
stretched over the disks, being a tubular stretchable film having an outer
diameter less than the outer diameter of the rear and forward disks.
16. The casing article of claim 15 wherein the sleeve is a film of ethylene
vinyl acetate (EVA) approximately 2-3 mils thick.
17. The casing article of claim 10 wherein the casing is premoistened
sufficiently to eliminate soaking by the operator prior to stuffing.
18. A casing article for encasing a single pepperoni sausage product, said
casing article comprising:
a one-piece shirred length of fibrous casing having a length of less than
about 70 inches prior to shirring, said casing having an outer diameter of
less than about 85 millimeters, and the casing further having a tied end
and an open end;
a rear disk abutting folds of the shirred casing towards a rearward end
thereof, the rear disk having an outer diameter greater than the outer
diameter of the shirred casing;
a forward disk abutting folds of the shirred casing towards a forward end
thereof, said forward disk having an outer diameter greater than the outer
diamter of the shirred casing, with the tied end of the casing being
arranged so that it passes inwardly through the forward disk during
stuffing;
a sleeve of radially stretchable material stretched over the disks and
forming a container for the shirred casing having a length less than about
6 inches; the sleeve, prior to being stretched over the disk, being a
tubular film with an outer diameter less than the outer diameter of the
disks; and
the sleeve being connected to the disks with sufficient force so that the
container prevents de-shirring of the casing prior to stuffing, with the
casing article being of compact size to enable an operator of a stuffing
machine to easily slip the open end of the casing article on to a stuffing
horn without requiring hand shirring of the casing, and whereby the
container remains on the stuffing horn during and after stuffing of the
casing wherein meat emulsion is forced through the stuffing horn against
the closed end of the casing causing the casing to be pushed from the
container and filled with the meat emulsion, the open end of the casing
being thereafter closed to form a single pepperoni sausage.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Technical Field
This invention relates to casings such as small caliber fibrous sausage
casings used to make dry sausages.
Discussion
Small caliber (less than about 85 millimeters in diameter) fibrous sausage
casings have been used in the marketplace for many dry sausage varieties.
Because of the precise nature of the diameter of these small caliber
casings, they offer an excellent container for slicing products,
especially where exact weight slices are required. One sausage variety,
which is used extensively with these small caliber casings, is pepperoni.
Pepperoni slices are often used as pizza toppings. Most manufacturers of
frozen or fresh pizzas demand that the pepperoni be precise in caliber and
weight so that when the sausage is sliced, all of the slices are the same.
In such manner the pizza maker maintains control over the amount of
toppings thereby eliminating the practice of adding more slices on the
pizza just to make sure that the pizza meets all applicable labeling and
other regulatory requirements.
The aesthetics of the pepperoni slices is as equally important as its size
and weight control. When a pizza is heated some pepperoni slices have a
tendency to curl up or "cup" thereby degrading the otherwise eye-appealing
nature of the pizza. The propensity of slices to "cup" is due, at least in
part, to the way in which the pepperoni is stuffed.
FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional manner in which pepperoni sausages are
stuffed. The machine 10 is a commercially available stuffing machine such
as is sold under the POLY-CLIP brand, type SFC 7006 available from
Neidecker Company of Frankfort, Germany. Of course, other suitable
stuffing machines have been used for this purpose. plurality of dry, flat
casings 12a which are tied at one end are shown lying on a work table 14.
Casings 12 are only about 40 to 70 inches in length and are designed to
encase only one sausage or "chub". These casings 12a are soaked by the
operator in a tub 16 until they become pliable. The operator removes the
soaked casings 12b from the tub 16 and shirrs the soaked casings 12b, by
hand, onto a stuffing horn 18. In the machine shown in FIG. 1, there are
three stuffing horns mounted on a rotating turret.
The hand shirring of the casing onto the stuffing horn is a tedious and
time consuming task. It further requires repetitive hand shirring motions
from the operator which, when multiplied by the number of casings shirred
on a typical work shift, produces an exceedingly large number of wrist
bending motions that are required.
The machine 10 is then cycled bringing a horn 18 with a shirred casing 12c
thereon into the filling station whereby the meat emulsion is forced from
a hopper 20 through the horn 18 and into the casing. The machine 10 uses a
clipper 22 to clip the rearward end of the casing. The filled casing 12d
is discharged onto the table 14. These so-called "green" sausages are then
carried to a suitable fermentation room or smoke house where the sausage
is processed.
Another method which is described, for example, in Section III of the
publication entitled Sausage Casing Technology, edited by Endel Karmas,
published by Noyes Data Corporation, Park Ridge, N.J. (1974) uses long
lengths of casings which have been shirred into a stick or strand, as
compared with the use of individual pieces of casing as described in
connection with FIG. 1. Typically, the shirred strands contain around 20
meters of casing which have been shirred or compacted into a length of
about 14-17 inches. The strand is overwrapped with a netting which
prevents de-shirring of the strand and permits the strand to be
subsequently soaked (if not premoistened) to render the casing pliable in
the shirred condition. After soaking, the overwrap is removed and the
strand is placed onto the horn of the stuffing machine. A more
sophisticated machine is required when using strands, as compared to
pieces, since it must be able to double clip, cut and loop the casing as
well as fill it with the meat emulsion. An example of a machine of this
type is the SUPER POLY CLIP machine also available from Neidecker Company,
Frankfort, Germany. This machine is capable of producing multiple sausages
from one strand since the strand contains a much longer length of casing,
usually enough casing to form 20 to 50 sausages from one strand.
This latter technique has the advantage that it eliminates hand shirring of
the casing. However, it also has its disadvantages. For example, the
diameter of the stuffing horn is generally smaller than horns for
one-piece casings. By way of an example, for a 50 millimeter diameter
sausage, a 28 or less millimeter diameter stuffing horn is typically used
for shirred casings whereas a 36 millimeter stuffing horn may be used for
one-piece casings. This discrepancy is generally due to the need to use a
small diameter shirring mandrel in order to compact the many meters of
casing into a length compact enough to fit the machine. This problem is
further exaggerated during soaking of the strands in preparation for
stuffing. During soaking, the strand may swell causing its internal
diameter to become even smaller thus requiring a still narrower stuffing
horn. The use of a longer, smaller diameter stuffing horn results in
slower throughput, more fat smear, poorer particle definition and the
aforementioned cupping problem during heating of the pepperoni slices.
The present invention is directed to solving one or more of these problems.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Pursuant to the teachings of this invention, a shirred one-piece casing
article is provided that eliminates the problems associated with the
conventional hand shirring operations while at the same time avoiding the
disadvantages of the use of long lengths of casings shirred into strands.
In accordance with the teachings of the present invention, a one-piece
shirred length of casing is packaged in a compact manner which prevents
de-shirring of the casing prior to stuffing. The casing article is capable
of being hand held by an operator of a stuffing machine and easily
manipulated to place it onto a stuffing horn without requiring hand
shirring of the casing.
In the preferred embodiment, the rearward end of the shirred casing abuts a
rear disk having an outer diameter greater than the outer diameter of the
shirred casing. A second disk is located adjacent to a front end of the
casing which is tied and passes inwardly through the second disk. An
overwrap or sleeve of flexible material is stretched over the disks and
forms a container of less than about 6 inches in length for the casing.
The sleeve is connected to the disks with sufficient force to maintain the
disk-to-disk connection to prevent de-shirring of the casing prior to
stuffing and to keep the container intact and on the stuffing horn during
stuffing.
The one-piece shirred article according to the present invention can be
placed onto the stuffing horn in one simple motion permitting
significantly increased stuffing speeds and a much more efficient
operation. It eliminates hand shirring onto the stuffing horn and avoids
health hazards associated with repetitive wrist motions. Moreover, the
one-piece shirred article can be used on short, large diameter stuffing
horns thereby avoiding problems such as cupping of the slices and other
drawbacks created by the use of small diameter stuffing horns used with
shirred strands.
A method of making the casing article and the use thereof to stuff a
one-piece sausage is also disclosed.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
These and various other objects and advantages of the present invention
will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon a study of the
following specification and by reference to the drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a PRIOR ART sausage stuffing operation;
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view which schematically illustrates a step in
shirring the casing article of the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the shirring process at a
subsequent step;
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the sleeve overwrapping being
applied to the shirred casing;
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the completed one-piece shirred sausage
casing article;
FIG. 6 is a front end view of the article;
FIG. 7 is a partial cross-sectional view showing the casing article on a
stuffing horn and the casing being stuffed; and
FIG. 8 is a view, similar to FIG. 7, illustrating the rear end of the
casing being clipped while the empty sleeve remains on the stuffing horn.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
It should be understood at the outset that while this invention is
described in connection with one particular example, that various
modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art after
having the benefit of reading this detailed description.
In the preferred embodiment, a one-piece small caliber, fibrous casing 24
is the starting component. For purposes of this invention, the term
"one-piece casing" means that the casing is only long enough to encase one
sausage. Typically, the length of the unshirred casing 24 is about 40 to
60 inches but no longer than about 70 inches. This is to be compared to
the situation where long lengths, often 20-25 meters, of casings are
shirred into a compacted strand, with the strands being used to make a
large number of sausages. Casing 24 is made of cellulose reinforced with
fibers in a manner known in the art and referred to simply as fibrous
casing. It also has a relatively small inner diameter of about 40 to 55
and no more than 85 millimeters in diameter. Casing 24 has been pre-tied
and provided with a loop 26 at its forward end in a manner known in the
art. Thus far, casing 24 is known per se and is available from a variety
of manufacturers such as Brechteen Co. as "Tied, Fibrous" casing.
The method of making the article of the present invention will now be
described. Turning to FIG. 2, shirring apparatus 28 is schematically
illustrated for shirring the one-piece casing 24. Apparatus 28 generally
includes a shirring mandrel 30 having a relatively large outer diameter. A
rear annular disk 32 is slid over the end of mandrel 30 and abutted
against a stop 34. Then, the open end of casing 24 is threaded over
mandrel 30 until it is underneath a pair of shirring wheels 36, 38. Wheels
36, 38 are rotated and brought into contact with casing 24 as shown in
FIG. 3. This causes the flat casing 24 to be compacted or shirred into a
length of less than about 8 inches, preferably about 4 to 6 inches.
With reference to FIG. 4, the shirring wheels 36, 38 are then retracted
from the shirred casing and a second disk 40 is slipped over the forward
end of the casing and onto to the mandrel 30. A sleeve 42 of flexible
material is then stretched over the forward disk 40 and rear disk 32
covering the shirred casing 24. The completed article 44 is then removed
from the mandrel 30.
FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate the one-piece shirred casing article 44 in more
detail. The sleeve 42 and disks 32, 40 define a container for the shirred
casing 24. The sleeve 42 is made of a material which is sufficiently
flexible so that it adheres to the outer surfaces of disks 32, 40 and
keeps the container intact to prevent the shirred casing 24 from
de-shirring or unraveling during storage and handling. The adhesion
between the sleeve 42 and disks 32, 40 is also sufficient so that the
contain. defined thereby remains intact and on the stuffing horn during
and after the filling operation, as will appear.
By way of a non-limiting example, sleeve 42 is a tubular sheet of ethylene
vinyl acetate (EVA) approximately 2 to 3 mils thick and about 8 inches in
length. The outer diameter of the rings 32, 40 should be greater than the
outer diameter of the shirred casing 24 by at least about 15 percent.
Otherwise, the casing 24 may have a tendency to lift the overwrap sleeve
42 from the disks 32, 40 thereby degrading the structural integrity of the
container. By way of a non-limiting example, the following Tables I and II
provide representative dimensions for casing article 44 with two different
size casings:
______________________________________
TABLE I TABLE II
______________________________________
flat casing length: 60"
flat casing length: 60"
flat casing size: No. 1
flat casing size: No. L11/4
(fibrous) (fibrous)
shirred casing I.D.:
shirred casing I.D.:
41 mm 41 mm
shirred casing O.D.:
shirred casing O.D.:
50 mm 54 mm
disk O.D.: 57.5 mm disk O.D.: 62 mm
unstretched sleeve O.D.:
unstretched sleeve O.D.:
47 mm 51 mm
article length: 4-6"
article length: 4-6"
______________________________________
Disks 32, 40 can be made of any suitable material such as polypropylene.
If desired, the casing 24 can be premoistened to eliminate the need for
soaking by the meat packer. In such case, casing 24 should include a
moisture content of about 48 percent based upon the total weight of the
casing for most pepperoni and dry sausage applications. The appropriate
amount of moisture can be applied by a variety of means such as by
spraying the interior of the casing during the shirring process. A
suitable antimycotic may also be employed to increase shelf life.
Alternatively, if the casing is not premoisturized, it needs to be soaked
by the meat packer prior to stuffing. In such case, the article 44 should
be immersed in a tub as necessary to achieve the appropriate amount of
moisture.
In either case, the one-piece shirred casing article 44 lends itself to
efficient high volume production of quality sausages with desirable
characteristics. The article 44 is easily held in the hand by the operator
and is readily manipulated. Instead of the hand shirring operation
discussed in connection with the PRIOR AR technique of FIG. 1, the
operator merely needs to slide the open rearward end of the article 44
over the stuffing horn 18. There is no need for hand shirring.
FIG. 7 illustrates the article 44 when the horn 18 has been rotated into
the stuffing position and the casing 24 is being filled with meat emulsion
46. In the stuffing position, the horn 18 protrudes through an opening in
a brake ring assembly 48 in machine 10. When the brake ring assembly 48 is
in the stuffing position and filling begins, ring 40 wedges the forward
edge 50 of the sleeve 42 against the throat 52 of the assembly 48. The
casing 24 is de-shirred and fed out of the assembly 48 by the force of the
meat emulsion 46 during the filling operation. During filling, the front
ring 40 is abutted against the assembly 48 by the stuffing and de-shirring
action. The inner walls of disk 40 provide a stop for preventing further
forward motion of the shirred casing and facilitates controlled
de-shirring of the casing 24 through the inner diameter of the ring 40.
The container formed by the sleeve 42 and disks 32, 40, however, remains
intact as an integral unit during filling.
As shown in FIG. 8, the rearward end of the filled sausage casing 24 is
clipped by clipper 22 and fed onto table 14 (FIG. 1). The clipper retracts
and the stuffing horn 18 with the spent container remaining on it cycles
to the unloading station where the spent container is easily slipped off
of the horn 18. Simultaneously, a previously loaded horn is cycled into
the filling position for filling a new casing.
The various advantages of the present invention should now become apparent
to those skilled in the art. Since the casing article 44 utilizes only a
comparatively short one-piece casing 24, a relatively large shirring
mandrel 30 can be used thereby resulting in a larger inner diameter (e.g.,
at least about 40 mm) for the shirred casing 24 when compared to strands
of longer lengths of casing. This, in turn, permits the use of a
comparatively larger stuffing horn 18. By way of an example, a 41
millimeter O.D. shirring mandrel 30 and a 36 millimeter O.D. stuffing horn
18 can be used with the present invention for a casing having a
recommended 50 millimeter stuffing diameter. In contrast, a smaller (e.g.,
32-36 millimeter) shirring mandrel is often used to shirr large amounts of
casing into a strand necessitating a longer, smaller (e.g., 28-32
millimeter) stuffing horn 18 for a comparably sized sausage product. In
addition to the immediate application of the present invention to stuffing
horn lengths currently in se, e.g., 13-15 inches, stuffing horns with even
shorter lengths can be used; for example, 8-10 inch long stuffing horn can
be used in comparison with a 17 inch long stuffing horn which is typically
used with shirred strands. The ability to use stuffing horns that are
shorter and with larger diameters provides a much more rapid throughput of
the meat emulsion, less fat smearing and better cooking performance by
substantially eliminating the "cupping" phenomena when slices of pepperoni
are heated on the surface of a pizza. All of these advantages can be
achieved while at the same time eliminating the time consuming and
laborious task of hand shirring the casings.
Still other advantages will become apparent to those skilled in the art
after a study of the foregoing specification, drawings and following
claims. For example, while the invention was described in connection with
a small caliber fibrous casing as a particular example, the present
invention has applicability to casings made of other materials such as
collagen, non-reinforced cellulose and plastic. The casing article can
also be used to stuff a wide variety of tubular encased products such as
human or animal food, dough and even non-food products such as cement.
Various other materials can be used for the sleeve such as perforated
wrappings or nettings of materials having the desired characteristics.
Therefore, while this invention has been described in connection with a
particular example, no limitation is intended thereby except as defined in
the appended claims.
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